612: Why Most Executive Presence Advice including “Speak Your Truth” Collapses Under Pressure

Know Your Own Executive Presence Strengths & Opportunities: Click here to pinpoint the specific area in your executive presence that’s keeping you invisible to senior leadership and guarantees you stay working hard as a pack mule who never gets promoted. Why do some people effortlessly influence difficult conversations while everyone else ends up explaining, defending, and getting nowhere? If you've ever left a meeting wishing you'd said the perfect thing—or felt unheard despite doing everything "right"—this episode is for you. Laura sits down with renowned negotiation expert Kwame Christian to challenge conventional communication advice and reveal why influence isn't about talking more, persuading harder, or simply "being empathetic." By the end of Laura’s conversation with Kwame Christian you’ll know: 🎧Why competitive listening can dramatically increase your influence and earn instant credibility 🧮A practical framework for staying calm, emotionally prepared, and effective during high-pressure conversations 🎨The art of asking powerful questions that build trust, uncover hidden information, and generate genuine buy-in instead of resistance Press play to discover the communication strategies that will help you handle difficult conversations with greater confidence, influence, and lasting impact. Access the Executive Presence Scorecard assessment here. To learn more visit www.speakupwithlaura.com. New Speak Up podcast episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning. About our guest: Kwame Christian is a negotiation expert, bestselling author, keynote speaker, and host of the world's #1 negotiation podcast. Once a self-described people-pleaser who avoided conflict and difficult conversations, Kwame transformed his approach after realizing that confidence, negotiation, and clear communication aren't personality traits—they're learnable skills. That insight became the foundation of his work and has helped thousands of leaders navigate high-stakes conversations with greater clarity, confidence, and influence. Today, Kwame works with Fortune 500 companies and organizations around the world, training leaders, attorneys, sales teams, procurement professionals, and executives to negotiate more effectively, manage conflict, and influence without relying on authority. As the longtime host of Negotiate Anything, he produced more than 1,800 episodes reaching listeners in over 180 countries and generating more than 16 million downloads. He is also the creator of Big Swings Only, a podcast featuring inspiring stories of people who achieved extraordinary results by refusing to play small. A LinkedIn Top Voice and two-time bestselling author, Kwame's mission is simple: to help people discover that the best opportunities in life and business are waiting on the other side of difficult conversations. The Speak Up Podcast helps high-performing professionals develop executive presence through strategic communication, executive confidence, and leadership influence. Each episode provides practical strategies to help you speak up in meetings, communicate with senior leaders, present ideas with clarity, build executive visibility, strengthen your leadership presence, influence without authority, stop overexplaining, answer difficult questions with confidence, and become a trusted executive leader. Whether you're preparing for your next Vice President promotion or looking to communicate with greater credibility and gravitas, you'll learn actionable executive communication skills that accelerate career growth. Topics covered in this episode: Negotiation strategies Executive communication Difficult conversations Competitive listening Compassionate curiosity Executive presence Emotional intelligence in leadership Managing conflict at work Influencing without authority Asking better questions Building trust and buy-in Persuasion and negotiation psychology Managing emotions under pressure Communication for senior leaders Speaking up with confidence Active listening vs. competitive listening Handling pushback and objections Psychological safety in conversations Leadership communication skills High-stakes workplace conversations